Electronic Voice Phenomenon

LIVE: Kawabata Makoto/?Alos/Aerial Ruin

2009-11-04T06:27:00.000-08:00

Dissonant Plant
October 30th, 2009
Seattle, WA

Staring at the blank canvas in our wooden-framed prefabbed seats, the 'stage' of a plushly carpeted floor and an amp mini-stack seems quite unassuming. However, looks are always deceiving when stepping into Dissonant Plane. Yes, it is a 'record' store by all accounts but its growing tentacles are ever-so tightly wrapping themselves around Seattle's blossoming noise and avant scene. For so long Seattle has played host to grunge cast-offs, bad party bands, and the occasionally talented--although formulaic--post rock crew. With the emergence of vinyl currency and an upstairs haven in the belly of a spectacular turntable and speaker store, Dissonant Plane's rather white and tan versus black and glass facade is more foreboding than one can fathom at first sight.

So here we sat on the eve of All Hallow's Eve, waiting patiently for Acid Mothers Temple honcho Kawabata Makoto to occupy the slice of upstairs real estate and splash the walls with brain matter and ear drums. Little did we expect that such a ecstatic atrocity would happen before Makoto connected his pedals and plugged into the solitary amp.

The night began with San Francisco's Aerial Ruin. As one might guess from his long hair, scraggly beard, and acoustic guitar, Aerial Ruin took his cues from metal riffs and folkish mentality. As anyone familiar with the blend can attest, they work much like chocolate and steak: intriguingly tasty. Aerial Ruin has some work to do to become a worthy champion of the stage but his brief set was gentle, full of spry notes, and never dull. His switches between humbled vocals and ominous whispers were shiver inducing and had the crowd been aware of what was up next, they would have taken Aerial Ruin's signs as omens.

Berliner ?Alos graced us next and no one could have been prepared for her satanic onslaught. Despite a room of 20 and the plush environs in which to work, ?Alos produced 20 minutes of terror, intrigue, anxiety, and animosity the likes of Yoko Ono's work in boxes. Armed with a strand of white Christmas lights, a first generation Buddha Machine, and hair longer than her vertical stand, ?Alos calmly worked her way around the room, sharing a viscous substance with random audience members despite the Swine Flu scare. Her monotone chant was soothing yet troubling and if not for the Buddha Machine's precarious placement atop the amplifier stack, one would have wondered what was hiding in the weeds--or her hair.

We soon found out as ?Alos finally made her way to the staging area. She calmly turned on her pink Buddha Machine and let loose with an exorcising Linda Blair could dare not reenact. Tiny bells, cymbals, and trinkets jangled and swayed in anger as ?Alos spoke an unfamiliar tongue in fits of vitriolic fury; her caterwauls of pain and anguish barely broken by the clanging of her dreaded cymbals and skeletal castanets. The thunderous stomps and spooky wails ?Alos emitted all while gently swaying her dominant mane was debilitating. I dared not move for fear of becoming the center of her storm--and trust me, there was no eye in sight. Each movement and audible emission was unnerving yet all the while, I could not look away. ?Alos taps into a primeval need to pay heed to her incoherent but recognizable warnings. The woman that emerged after the performance could not have been more opposite than the creature who confidently and defiantly strode into Dissonant Plane with vengeance on her plate.

As we slowly recovered from ?Alos' all-out performance, Kawabata Makoto began to unpack his gear from a suitcase--fresh from a transcontinental flight. After some battles with his equipment, Makoto began a lengthy piece of bow-on-guitar drone. He promised us "sleepy' music and though the mood was calm and the melody soothing, there was nothing to draw an eyelid to slumber. Rather than unleashing the burning acid bath commonly associated with Acid Mothers Temple, Makoto displayed a gentle touch as he weaved a simplistic tapestry of drone around the audience. Unlike ?Alos, Makoto is not about appearance or bombastic performance. His music is about construction; layering sounds while abolishing others until a balance is achieved. There were times when Makoto's experiments squealed with high-pitched fever and threatened to topple his creation but as any artist can willingly attest you must stand at the edge to learn your limits. Makoto glared into the abyss below but did not blink, bringing Makoto's organized chaos to a polite conclusion.

TOUR DATES: The Books

2009-11-04T05:50:00.000-08:00

The Books hit the dusty trail and along with the whooping cough and threat of diphtheria, they are unveiling new songs.

11/19 Waltham, MA Rose Art Museum
11/21 Bellingham, WA Mainstage
11/23 Los Angeles, CA Masonic Lodge @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery
11/24 Seattle, WA Triple Door (2 sets, early and late)
11/25 Vancouver, BC The Clutch
11/26 Calgary, AB Broken City
11/27 San Francisco, CA Noe Valley Ministry
11/28 San Francisco, CA Noe Valley Ministry
11/29 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall Ballroom
11/30 Madison, WI Majestic Theatre
12/01 Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural Center

REVIEWED: Thao & the Get Down Stay Down

2009-11-03T06:30:00.000-08:00

Thao & the Get Down Stay Down
Know Better, Learn Faster
(Kill Rock Stars)

Similar Sounds: Laura Veirs, Karl Blau, Imaad Wasif
File Under: indie pop, indie folk, not the silly love songs of Paul McCartney

By Tristram Burden

Fuck most songs about love and romantic relationships--unless they're sung by Greg Dulli or Thao Nguyen. Love...the morning after...the fight in three weeks. In her lyrics she refuses to produce vapid trash about romantic love like pop music has now for nearly a century. Resistance to suppression or dominance, her articulate annunciation of the power plays between men and woman render her songs authentically honest and interesting.

The wrathful first track shares a title with a venereal disease. 'If this is how you want it okay, okay.' "The Clap" and "Body in your Bag" are almost scary. A richer, fatter sound endures throughout the album offsetting the prominent pink jangle present on previous releases and rendering the dark earthiness of Thao's melodies more noticeable.

The first two full tracks ("The Clap" is more of a startling intro) pull back to very old school rock n' roll but towards the end of the album, Willis' drums break open songs into new found territory. While eventually reverting back to honky-tonk piano, with the added concrete block backbone of drums and bass that's present on this release, it still sounds fresh. As an album, it seems more of a whole than Beestings. While her work has continually been stellar, the darkness has never stood up to the light like it does here. A work of true balance.

VIDEO: Megafaun - "Impressions of the Past"

2009-11-03T05:51:00.000-08:00

Hometapes has been a label in transience for the past few years but they never fail to deliver a brand of unblemished and unaffected pop that is so saccharine that it rots our teeth with its sweet joy. Whether it's from Slaraffenland, The Caribbean, or in this case, Megafaun, it's all sugar and spice and everything nice.

"Impressions of the Past" continues the grand Hometapes tradition with one awesome caveat: stop-motion photography!

Thousands of miles, thousands of images. On tour with their new album "Gather, Form & Fly", Megafaun was captured, piece by piece, by the photographer Tim Lytvinenko. Part-documentary, part-sense memory, Tim's images took on a life of their own as he traveled across the west with the band, the music, the landscape, and everything in between. He set his first magical trademark sequences to the album's epic and beautiful "Impressions of the Past" --- and a video was born. Further shaped across the plains, the mountains, the coast, and the desert of North America, the video became a daily experience for the band on tour.

Monday News Mash-Up

2009-11-02T05:50:00.000-08:00

>> Spoon have finally given non-Texas concert goers something to be giddy about. The group has announced that album #7, Transference, will be available January 26th. Not only a great way to kick off a new year but also a new decade.

>> KEXP’s own Jon Kertzer—host of such entertaining fare as The Best Ambience--has teamed up with local independent entity Sub Pop to form the world music label, Next Ambience. The label’s first release is right around the corner: December 1st. Mark it down because it’s when you can get your digital hands on the digital music of Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni ba’s I Speak Fula.

>> Hors d’Oevres, the under the radar second album from Annie Sachs AKA Tickley Feather, has spawned a video for “Trashy Boys”:

>> Delaware-based microlabel 905 Tapes announced their 100th release this week and it’s a stunner. Ready December 18th, Deaf in the Valley will be a double cassette and art ‘zine box set featuring heavy hitters such as Thurston Moore, Growing, John Olson, and Sick Llama contributing both music and visuals alongside some of 905’s most fearless acts. The set is limited to 200 units, so if you need a reason to get into cassette collectibles or, I don’t know, you like good music and art and want to be blown away, then you better nab it.

>> The Barcelona-based Primavera Festival has announced that the reunited-for-a-year-of-touring geek gods, Pavement will be headlining a night of the fest’s May 27-29th runtime. Pavement has also announced that their global tour will be hitting Japan as well. Do they realize that most of us only care about North America? Canadians are so egocentric.

>> St. Vincent has recently unveiled an uncut video for “Marrow.” Would you like to watch it? Did you catch her on Austin City Limits? Be thankful for reruns

>> The Fall, the November 17th album from Norah Jones will be getting the remix treatment with a little help from The Beastie Boys, Beck, and Santigold. We know you want to hate her but you just can’t, can you?

NEWS + MP3: Bro, Brah is going Home w/ new album and digital box set

2009-10-29T06:15:00.000-07:00

Home, as tame a name as can be, is a Tampa-based group that has long been known for its lo-fi, DIY aesthetic--the sort of mechanisms that can be discovered and recovered via a long list of current niche and mircolabels. Perhaps sticking your head out of the indie rabbit hole once in awhile will show you the world you're missing. So hopes Home and Brah, which exists under the Secretly Canadian/Jagjaguwar, snuggled up next to Dead Oceans.

Home is readying XVII for a January 26th release, but to introduce the band's earliest recordings to the world at large, the metaphysical 8 discs of digitally altered I - VIII, chronicling Home's rudimentary recordings from as far back as 1991 is hitting the internet-at-large.

Sample the first taste of XVII while you read the testimonials!

Home - "Photographed with Ease"

The lo-fi opus began unintentionally in 1991 when Eric Morrison and Andrew Deutsch, sharing a small Tampa apartment, began to use a Radio Shack "supertape" to mix down their latest songs. When the tape was filled, it seemed to fill at least the technical definition of an album. Twenty cassette copies were dubbed, loaded into a candy jar and placed on the counter of Tampa's Blue Chair Music, where they were sold for $1 -- which also gave you the OK to grab some candy out of the jar. Over the next two years, Home -- joined now by bassist Brad Truax and drummer Sean Martin -- recorded seven more tapes in the same manner, on gradually less-crude equipment, refilling the candy jar each time. That said, it's high time you get yourself some candy, dudes.

The forthcoming record is very much inspired by the band's early forays in home recording. Recently, the members converged on Devils Isle WetLab Studio to record the skeleton tracks for Home XVII and tackle the long-overdue digitizing and mastering of the first eight cassette albums. Somewhere in analyzing the tapes, Home became re-interested in the sound of songs in their genesis: the wholly imperfect object that is felt but not yet processed; the carefully crafted uber-story abandoned for passing fancy; the MS-16 fullness for the red-line compression of a 4-track. The result of this return is Home XVII, a scattershot sampling of moments and perspectives that awkwardly leaves archeological traces of cross-dressing and identity destruction.

LIVE: Shonen Knife/Visqueen/Connecticut Four

2009-10-28T06:28:00.000-07:00

Photographs and words by Lauren Takores

The Tractor Tavern
October 24th, 2009
Seattle, WA

Pay attention to the music your favorite musicians like and take notes! It’s a no-brainer for any fan of any band. If you think highly of Sonic Youth, Nirvana, and Redd Kross, you needn’t look further into their personal record collections for a first-rate pick than the all-girl, J-rock band Shonen Knife. On Saturday, October 24, Osaka’s answer to the Ramones played the Tractor Tavern with Connecticut Four and Visqueen, making it a night of girl-driven power pop.

Connecticut Four are three girls from Bellingham who play their brand of raucous music like the next generation riot girls they are. “We’re hot, oh and our music is good too!” bassist Cristina Bautista repeated onstage after one of the many middle aged, baseball-hatted men who happened to be in front, spilling their beer and sticky-ing up the floor, yelled to her. The audience cheered for their set of crunchy guitars and crashing drums balanced out by almost sultry vocals. Although an awkward hush did fall over the crowd when guitarist Meghan Kessinger announced, “This song is called ‘get off me dad you’re crushing my smokes.’” I really couldn’t tell if she was kidding or not.

Rolling right along, up next was local act Visqueen. With their new album Message to Garcia, Visqueen’s broad appeal truly threatens to take them mainstream, which nowadays too often borders on the generic (cello player notwithstanding). Nonetheless I can’t help but feel that this is the direction music should go in. Loud, strong, edgy, and authentic, with emphasis on song craftsmanship. According to Visqueen’s lead singer and guitarist Rachel Flotard, she intoned from the stage, “We wanna make Seattle proud so bad… we’re gonna represent as far as this little thing will take us.”

Naoko Yamano, guitarist and founding member of Shonen Knife, has kept the band going in some incarnation since 1982, currently with bassist Ritsuko Taneda and drummer Etsuko Nakanishi. Shonen Knife may be pushing thirty years old, but still haven’t moved out the garage (sound) yet. Looking like a Motown girl group in their matching outfits and sounding like the Ramones sucked in helium balloons, Shonen Knife quickly won the crowd’s hearts, minds, and stomachs; to the best of my knowledge, only Weird Al Yankovic is also this inspired by food. Songs from their set included “Banana Chips,” “Sushi Bar,” “I Wanna Eat Chocobars,” and fresh off their lates album Super Group, “BBQ Party.” “Let’s pig out with Shonen Knife!” said Naoko as she smiled to the crowd. “And don’t worry about your diet!”

Shonen Knife setlist:
Konichiwa
Banana Chips
Super Group
A Map Monster
Barnacle
Johnny Johnny Johnny
I Wanna Eat Chocobars
BBQ Party
Ramones Forever
Devil House
Twist Barbie
Antonio Baka Guy
Pyramid Power
E: Sushi Bar

Cristina Bautista (Connecticut Four)

Rachel Flotard (Visqueen)

Shonen Knife

VIDEO: Talk Normal - "In a Strangeland"

2009-10-28T05:52:00.000-07:00

"In a Strangeland," from the recently released Sugarland, exists in that maddening plane where I.U.D. and Marnie Stern merge into one frenetic orgy of repetitive guitar chops and primitive drum beats. Men will feel funny, women will feel empowered, and the video will caused ischemic attacks.

As far as a 'performance' video goes, Talk Normal take their stab at the visual genre with aplomb and an attitude fitting a powerful and succinct track. You will obey Talk Normal. You will do their bidding. And you will like it!

REVIEWED: Kane Pour

2009-10-27T06:29:00.000-07:00

Kane Pour
Cat on a Paisley Shawl
(Housecraft)

Sounds Like: Tricorn & Queue, early Bibio
Genre: Abstract guitar plucks, synth excursions, kitty dancing

by Joseph Hydoski

Kane Pour plays as one half of the fantastic duo Tricorn & Queue, along with Housecraft czar Jeff Astin. Contrasting the works of T&Q, Kane Pour, and Astin’s various solo efforts (Abolicao, Xiphiidae) may seem pointless to the unfamiliar ear; each artist focuses on twinkling-star melodies and drifting, unobtrusively hazy synth excursions. For those familiar with the burgeoning tape scene, however, Cat on a Paisley Shawl will undoubtedly sound entirely unique.

I’ll preface the forthcoming ejaculatory praise by disclaiming my love for all things Housecraft. I have yet to receive anything but works of intimate, beautiful packaging and tones from Astin’s child, and the latest batch (including Pour) proves to be no exception. From the water painted insert, to the abstract swirls embedded on the cassette’s case, to the lilac tape with labels that resemble a close-up of Barbie’s garden, the whole aesthetic reeks of beauty.

Thankfully, the music contained inside Cat on a Paisley Shawl only bolsters my lust for Housecraft’s output. As an embarrassingly amateur musician, I can’t say for sure what instruments contribute to Paisley Shawl; I assume that there are some contact mics in a guitar, and glittering synths mixed with found sounds and field recordings (a style fairly normal for Housecraft and related output). Kane’s tape is beauty via fluttering chords of various instruments, slow-motioned male voices, and a field of tape-hissed haze blanketing Paisley Shawl’s ecstatic atmosphere.

Early 20th century Japanese author Natsume Soseki wrote a series of books chronicling the life of a housecat, and that cat’s anthropomorphized observations. Listening to Cat on a Paisley Shawl turned me into Soseki’s feline; taking naps on my owner’s lap and tasting the herbs growing in his private garden. I felt comfortable, content, and excited all at the same time. Some of the songs felt like little fillers but that slight turnoff doesn't deter from back-to-back-to-back listens. Do yourself a favor: drink some Earl Gray with this tape dancing in your background, and let Kane Pour make your chilly Fall sublime.

TOUR DATES: Lights

2009-10-27T05:51:00.000-07:00

If you're one of the uninitiated as it pertains to the 70s throwback of Lights, you have some reading to catch up on and some East Coast openings to catch the magic for yourself.

Nov 9 Boston, MA @ Harper's Ferry
Nov 10 Annandale-On-Hudson, NY @ Bard College
Nov 11 Providence, RI @ AS220
Nov 12 New York, NY @ Mercury
Nov 14 Pittsburgh, PA @ Garfield Artworks
Nov 15 Washington DC @ Comet Ping Pong
Nov 16 Baltimore, MD @ Wind-Up Space
Nov 17 Charlottesville,VA @ Twisted Branch
Nov 19 Chapel Hill, NC @ Nightlight
Nov 21 Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool
Dec 4 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
Dec 6 Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone
Dec 8 Knoxville,TN @ Pilot Light
Dec 9 Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
Dec 12 Tallahassee, FL @ The Engine Room
Dec 16 Birmingham, AL @ The Bottletree

VIDEO: Hawnay Troof - "Body Armageddon"

2009-10-26T06:37:00.000-07:00

Retard Disco may be one of the most politically incorrect label names but damned if they don't make you go stupid with the fantastic dance music of all genres that course through its infantile veins. Which is why we are craining our necks to check out the latest video goodness from Hawnay Troof. But don't take our word for it--listen, watch, and read the prepared statement:

The Australian film collective Moop Jaw has successfully captured the essence of the song in a new form. "Body Armageddon" finds us wondering through the mind of an artist using careless behavior in order to achieve self destruction. Filmed in the 30 degree weather on breezy Melbourne afternoon, we find VC using his performance as a form of bodily abuse. He has all kinds of foods, rocks, confetti, and eggs assaulting him (the egg actually got caught in his right eye temporarily damaging it), and proceeds to be beaten up for two hours during the filming.

Monday News Mash-Up

2009-10-26T05:40:00.000-07:00

>> Kemado, most likely known to the indie set as the label that has wrought Dungen, has unveiled a brick and mortar record (and we mean album as in record) store in NYC named Co-Op 87. Also in on the venture are NYC-based small labels as well as sister label Mexican Summer. The store has its own built-in analog studio, which was utilized this week to record what can only be called in-stores that will become singles sold via Co-Op 87 as early as December.

>> 40+ years after those first releases, Michael Yonkers has finally emerged as a unique, if lately discovered, voice of the 60s folks scene. De Stijl, which has reissued a handful of Yonkers’ old material, is up to its plucky tricks again as the self-titled Michael & the Mumbles descends November 3rd.

>> Seattle natives The Blood Brothers are being revisited via Epitaph with the re-release of four of the band’s five studio gems. The fun kicks off November 17th, with each disc sporting an enhanced portion, while Burn, Piano Island, Burn will feature a DVD as part of the package as Young Machete and Crimes will feature a bonus disc of living performances and collected singles.

>> It’s been quite awhile since we’ve heard from Julian Casablancas, but his solo album Phrazes for the Young is looming and now comes word that The Strokes frontman is going large for the album with a deluxe box set due in December. The set will not include the standard CD version of Phrazes, but also includes the album on LP, a disc of demos and b-sides, a DVD of solo performances, a poster and a pin—all boxed and bowed in very lovely packaging.

>> Say goodbye to The Rakes, who have called it a career seven years and three albums in. That third album, Klang, is set for a US digital release Tuesday. With the breakup comes a laundry list of canceled gigs, including a few West and East Coast American dates.

We'll be back Monday

2009-10-23T08:28:00.001-07:00

EVP is taking an early weekend to continue work on the site and to get content ready for next week.

Thank you for your patience.

LIVE: Aidan Baker

2009-10-22T06:33:00.000-07:00

Dissonant Plane
October 18th, 2009
Seattle, WA

As Leah Buckareff quietly sat in the front row, attentively watching her partner in Nadja begin his tinkering, the crowd politely grew still and began the absorption process into the drone of Aidan Baker.

Nadja happened to be passing through Seattle on this rather sunny fall Sunday but Dissonant Plane only entertained notions of showcasing the solo talents of Baker, whose 100+ releases litter the landscape of limited albums and small-run labels. Baker did not disappoint. Armed with an old suitcase full of pedals and a wonderfully uncomplicated electric guitar, Baker began to unfold layer upon layer of drone, leaving no octave, stanza, or riff untouched. To call Baker a guitar player--at least in terms of the evening's events--would be a bit presumptious; rather, Baker is a string and knob manipulator. Each strike and turn, while minimal, was also extremely calculated as one idea bled into the next. The intimacy of Dissonant Plane only fueled the intimacy of Baker's creations. With each subtle shift in sound, the audience mimicked by changing their positions in an attempt to recenter and recapture the vibe.

If it is performance you are after, there was none to be found in Baker's motif. Despite a history of putting the doom in metal and the drone in experimentation, Baker's report is not with the audience but with his machines. While many would find this cold--perhaps a turn-off--it is in fact a main component of connection. No one has to focus on a personality, instead their mind must hone in on the sounds. There's a reason why this sort of music draws the crowds it does; the isolationists, the pontificates, the bedroom magistrates. Yet drone, especially in the agile mind and surgical fingers of Aidan Baker, is communal. We were all separate before and after the show but for those 30 minutes of music, we were one with the sound waves.

VIDEO: Final Flesh trailer

2009-10-22T06:10:00.000-07:00

Though the affiliation to the music world is loose at best, EVP has been all over Final Flesh since the announcement of its Drag City November 17th arrival was given to us like the lord gave us stone tablets which to obey.

And just like those stone tablets, you have ignored our praise of Final Flesh and the PFFR collective that has brought us such revolutionary entertainment as Wonder Showzen.

Now you can't ignore it--unless you choose not to watch the hilarious trailer. It teeters on NSFW but only if your place of employment is opposed to simulated sex noises, cheese grating in place of fellatio, and women giving birth to a slab of meat.

LIVE: Spiral Stairs

2009-10-20T06:36:00.000-07:00

Sonic Boom
October 14th, 2009
Seattle, WA

In the midst of all the clatter and shrills (or are they shills?), Scott Kannberg's first album under his Pavement moniker Spiral Stairs, titled The Real Feel, is being slightly ignored. As it stands, the album stands as a footnote in what is to be a year or so of Pavement nostalgia washing away memories of The Jicks, Preston School of Industry, and Ibold's recent stint as bassist for Sonic Youth.

The crowd was surprisingly sparse--perhaps many were awaiting the next evening's festivities when Kannberg was set to open up for Bob Mould--and the set matched the patchy emptiness. Joined by the video director for "Stolen Pills", Kannberg and his cohort slowly strummed and slid through tracks from The Real Feel, not to mention an old Preston School of Industry chestnut and a track from that much more important band that happens to be reuniting in 2010 for a year of cashing in...er, touring.

But this night belonged to Kannberg's Spiral Stairs persona and while the free show was what you'd expect a free show to be, it was a bouncy fun time that kept the crowd happy and lent Kannberg a bit of practice before he began playing in front of Bob Mould fans who would care if he fucked up. Many of the new songs took on a cool country persona thanks to Kannberg's pedestrian pace but no one was in a hurry to see the show end, although Kannberg did inform us he was headed to Jon Auer's 40th Birthday but clearly he was in no rush to be a timely guest.

Kannberg didn't sell The Real Feel as hard as one would imagine and the performance did the material little favors considering how poppy the new tracks are in recorded form but it's rare to get up close and almost personal with any musician and these are the moments when a musician becomes a person, so the pretense of a set are removed and a campfire mentality ensues. Kumbaya!

VIDEO: Christy & Emily - "Superstition"

2009-10-20T06:02:00.000-07:00

While enjoying "Superstition," the first video from Christy & Emily's album of the same name, due from UK imprint Big Print November 17th, one is reminded of Animal Collective's "Who Could Win a Rabbit" or St. Vincent's "Jesus Saves, I Spend". Both rely on mores and imagery we find comforting--perhaps warming--and yet both destroy it with visuals of blood, gore, and unpredictability.

So goes Christy & Emily's visual jaunt. Couple with the dirge-like speed and monochromatic tones of "Superstition," then the blood really boils from anxiety and fear.

Catching Up with Sean Byrne

2009-10-19T06:37:00.000-07:00

The name Sean Byrne may not rouse your curiosity immediately, but perhaps when you find out that he is the principle force behind comeback kids, Bugskull, you'll feel a bit different. Nearly a decade after its intended release, Communication found its way into the world and a new generation is able to stumble upon the pop experimentalism that was and is Bugskull. Mr. Byrne was quite gracious to answer some of our questions for this fluff piece and what he divulges makes for a great read.

Can you explain the process of being a truly independent artist with independent releases during the early 90s?

Just free, no expectations or boundaries. We recorded everything in our basement studio so it was fresh and as we wanted. Lo-Fi gets talked about a lot as an aesthetic movement, but I see it more as an economic choice to be in complete control of what you want to do. It was interesting, there was no internet going on, people would mail us checks for cassette releases, when you book a tour its all done over the phone. And when you release a small press album the only feedback you get is if someone reviews it in their zine. It was really a fun time. We were poor folk with lousy jobs, but music was what drove us, and we stole the motto from field of dreams, "build it and they will come". And I believe that to be true, people are still interested in what we did in our basement almost twenty years ago.

How did you get involved with the labels that released much of Bugskull's output?

My friend Mike Hinds that ran Road Cone was going to school at Pomona when I recorded the first cassette, he passed it to Dennis at Shrimper, who wanted to put it out. I was thrilled. Then the band formed, and Mike moved back to town, and started RoadCone, and released the first single, comp and album. A friend of ours Dan/Pop Secret released the Crock soundtrack. I'm not sure how I met Keith of Scratch, but we were much of the same mind, Vancouver had great bands coming out at the time, Superconductor, Good Horsey. He asked about putting out an album, and we released Snakland with him, and have continued to have a great relationship with him. The 10" was a bit odd, someone knew someone that wanted to have a label and wanted us to be on it, so we did. For the most part it was friends that we were working with, and got what we were doing, so there was never really a question about the product we presented to them, they accepted what we made.

Was anything considered too weird or taboo [song/album/idea] to any of the microlabels you released material through?

Only twice. I presented an album idea to Road Cone after Phantasies came out that was a collage of field recordings I had made when traveling around the country mixed with instrumental pieces mixed together. He wasn't into that. The other was the Big White Cloud album, which was going to be released by Darla. We went down and mastered it, he hadn't asked for an advanced recording of it, and over the weekend he decided it didn't have enough "hits" on it. So he decided not to release it, and I decided I didn't want to work with his label again for various reasons.

Did you ever entertain the idea of starting your own label to release Bugskull?

We had our own label, Eldest Son, that we released our own Bugskull cassettes, our free jazz project The Jarvik Seven, and two compilations, a tribute to Pink Floyd and and one to Prince. It was cassette only, and our friend Charlie Pound that ran Soliel moon recordings had a lot of Throbbing Gristle cassettes he was not going to be able to sell, so almost all our cassettes back in the day were taped over live Throbbing Gristle. A small number of people would mail order things from us, and we would sell them at shows. James and I worked at Kinko's at the time, so we were printing free color cover art on cardstock, which kept costs down. I considered in the last year releasing the "Communication" album myself on limited vinyl, because I wanted it at least available on a small scale.

Do you feel that your work in the 90s has had any influence on the current crop of musicians who work in found sounds, distortion, etc.?

I hope so, but our thumbprint was pretty small, so I wouldn't know. Also, there was precedent before us that had explored these ideas, so it could be possible we were just a bit on the front end of a new exploration in these areas.

Can you expain why it has taken so long for you to release 'Communication'? What we the issues that kept it out of the public for so long?

Well, Distracted Snowflake 2 was delayed by the fact that labels we were working with were having a cash crunch, getting things returned by distributors. Shrimper was supposed to release it, and then couldn't, so Scratch put it out, and at that point it was much later. Then we had the Big White Cloud fiasco with Darla, and Scratch put it out, again well delayed. The Communication album had been in the can for a while at this point, but I was moving into a different direction in my life, and didn't really push to get it out there. So it sat around for a long time, though my friends that had it thought it was some of the best stuff so far.

Do you feel 'Communication' has held up through all these years?

I do, otherwise I wouldn't have put it out. I have a pretty high standard for what I think should be released. I feel it continues a natural progression of the direction I was moving in musically at the time. It is the most ambient album I have released, but the heart and soul is there. I still enjoy listening to it to this day.

Have you been recording or writing material or sound pieces since the last Bugskull release?

I actually created music for a modern dance performance back in 2002, which was an interesting way to work. Last summer I pulled the old machines out and laid some loops and keyboards, which I haven't added to yet. My current life it's difficult for me to block out the time I feel necessary to do the work I want to do. Back when I was recording, to me it wasn't worth working unless I had an free four hour block to explore sound and ideas, because it really was about searching and exploration, which takes a lot of time to find what you are looking for. Happy accidents take time.

How have you been spending your time since Bugskull was last an active entity?

I had been working with children for a long time, and started working with young children with developmental disabilities. Once I got into that, I realized I was interested in that as a career, so I worked and finished my undergrad degree, and then got my license and masters degree in special education. The week I finished school and started my first teaching gig, my first son was born. Two and a half years later my second son was born. Music was nagging at the back of my mind, but I eventually had to accept that there was only so much time and energy in the day, and let music go, hoping that in the future I would find a time to return to it. One project I was able to have during that time was a collaboration with my friend Steve Doughton, a filmmaker, and our project was "Owl vs Lemming" where I would dejay soundtrackish music while he would project films, educational, found home movies, other bizarre stuff, that he projected from multiple projectors, so there would be overlap. An incredibly fun and I think moving project that did not require a lot of prep time because it was improvised. There are clips of mixes I did for on of his films on youtube. I really miss that project, and hoping to renew it this year with him on my visits to Portland.

Are there any current bands that excite/inspire/stir up any dormant competitive juices?

I don't know, I never felt very competitive in music, was more trying to bring out the ideas in my head. I actually have never been that great at keeping up with current music, still a crate digger of old vinyl. Lately I have been getting into folk/country stuff, as I live in Texas now, and that is influencing the new things I'm working on.

Is the release of 'Communication' a sign of new of Bugskull material?

I am writing songs, but in a different way. what I mentioned about time in the studio before, I have found that I can squeeze in time now to sit on my couch with my acoustic guitar and work on things. It's a big change for me, because lyrics have become the focus, and I am delving into to writing process pretty deeply. It is different that what I've done in the past, but I feel just as interesting. My goal is to get enough songs to record an album, hopefully next summer. we'll see, the process can be slow at times. I'm picky.

Monday News Mash-Up

2009-10-19T05:42:00.000-07:00

>> If we only lived in Britain we could enjoy the 10 new stamps that immortalize some of most popular British musicians and albums. According to NME, albums from the likes of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, New Order will be part of the collection, due January 7th, 2010.

>> The Flaming Lips have always been pegged as a drug band, but aside from the heavy drug of Steve Drozd chronicled in such great cinema as Fearless Freaks, principle Wayne Coyne has been quick to brush aside such assumptions. However, the recent announcement that the Lips would be doing a front-to-back cover album of Pink Floyd’s epic Dark Side of the Moon may make Dorothy and Toto point fingers all over again. The supposed iTunes-only release features help from Henry Rollins, Peaches, and cousin Dennis’ band, White Dwarfs. No concrete release date has been announced.

>> Drummer extraordinaire Chris Corsano is set to release a collaborative album with double bassist (not politician and renowned philanderer) John Edwards later this month. The limited LP, titled Tsktsking, will be released via London imprint Dancing Wayang.

>> The phenomenon known as Rock Band and Guitar Hero has sucked in the building block king, Lego. Lego Rock Band, due November 3rd, has unveiled the rock personalities and songs included in the game. Blur, David Bowie, Supergrass, The Police and Iggy Pop contribute tracks and their Lego likenesses to the game among a heaping helping of acts popular and niche.

REMINDER: EVP changing URLs Monday, October 19th

2009-10-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

http://evpzine.blogspot.com

Sorry to beat you over the head but we want to remind you of the impending changing! Thanks for putting up with the incessant disturbances. You can read a bit more about the why and how here.

THE AFTER LIFE: The Rentals - "Friends of P"

2009-10-16T06:36:00.000-07:00

It was hard to fathom that the absence of Matt Sharp would greatly affect the output of Weezer that fateful time post-Pinkerton. Of course you must discount the mainstream criticism that Pinkerton dealt with despite its now resolute status as an album that influenced an army of Weezer clones that has now in turn made Rivers Cuomo a clone of his former self.

Yet here we are, knee deep in greens, reds, and maladroits and not a sign of those ragged mop tops and nerd culture apologists to be found, replaced by a Rivers content to forgo large amounts of human contact and his former self to play songs as carefree and extroverted as the myriad of bands that followed the release of Pinkerton.

However, it's Matt Sharp and former Weezer bandmater Patrick Wilson's The Rentals that proved during Weezer's first hiatus (in between the self-titled debut and Pinkerton that should have stood as the obelisk that Sharp's contributions to Weezer were larger and more impressive than anyone imagined at that point. "Friends of P," whether a clever nod to the flash-in-the-pan band that featured Gibby Haynes and Johnny Depp singing about River Phoenix and Michael Stipe or just a clever pairing of words, was a hit in its own right in the midst of alternative's noticeable fragmentation of the mid-90s. The idea of a new wave revivalism, as we now know, was ahead of its time. Turning the big hair and bright makeup of Missing Persons and Flock of Seagulls into Euro-tinged art videos and flights of pop fancy just for shits and giggles was a stroke of genius, though it's more likely Sharp was just fulfilling a need in his own desire to create. Considering The Rentals' second album, not to mention his more country-flavored solo album from a couple years ago, it would seem to be the case.

Either way, "Friends of P" stands as a monument of what was and what could have been but perhaps a better, more democratic Weezer would have brought about the end times, so maybe Sharp's departure saved the world even if it was the beginning of the end of a fantastic-sounding Weezer.

MAKING WAVES: The Blakes

2009-10-15T06:32:00.000-07:00

What other band gets a crowd of arms-crossed concert-goers to raise their bottles of Red Strip and shake their fists to an anthem with lyrics like “Lama gama gama lama magoo!”?

The Blakes--Seattle’s own Garnet Kiem on guitar, Snow Kiem on bass, and Bob Husak on drums--played a farewell-and-good-luck show on Sept. 29 before taking off on a tour of the U.S. and Europe. Combining their booze-infused live show standards with exciting new songs from Souvenir, the show at Neumos was a complete slaughter.

Second albums often turn out to be a test; the music must actively live up to the first album, show some sort of progression without straying too far from the established sound. Ultimately the band must prove itself all over again. The good news is a built-in core of listeners, DJs, and critics willing to make that judgment.

Since their 2006 self-titled debut album, The Blakes made a name for themselves on creating a raw, energetic sound with catchy and simple, sometimes two chord songs. On their new album Souvenir, The Blakes successfully integrate their knack for creating unpolished garage rock while completely embracing the pleasing sensibility of pop.

The Blakes are set to perform a KEXP in-studio from the CMJ music festival in New York on Weds. Oct. 21 at 7 a.m. PST (10 a.m. EST), in addition to their three shows at the festival.

by Lauren Takores

NEWS: Starfucker becomes Pyramid; Dick Clark to host concerts

2009-10-15T05:45:00.000-07:00

You may recall the band of brothers known as Starfucker took us to Jupiter this year on a seizure-inducing electro-rock brand of rocket fuel. Apparently, too many people had trouble telling friends and family they were going to check out Starfucker, with concerned grandparents wondering aloud: "Those homosexuals are everywhere!"

So to avoid awkward parental conversations and perhaps due to the influence of their cover art and spectrum love, fans rebranded the group formerly known as Starfucker into Pyramid. Whether they are the $25,000 or the $100,000 version is yet to be known. We'll get someone on that.

It’s been an exciting year for Portland, OR’s favorite breakout band, Starfucker, and today is an exceptional day. Last month, just as the four-piece were poised to set sail on an extensive North American tour, they announced a name change contest that allowed fans to play a pivotal role in re-naming the band. After many votes and infinite good ideas, the guys have chosen PYRAMID as their new moniker. They will perform their last ever show as Starfucker at Portland’s venerable Wonder Ballroom on Halloween, so if you have a hankering for infectious beats and a costume contest judged by some of the members of the band, then look no further.

In addition to the name change news, PYRAMID are will self-release their debut UK single via their new imprint DDD featuring “Medicine," from 2009’s Jupiter EP. “Medicine” will be available exclusively at London’s Rough Trade stores as a limited edition, deluxe white vinyl 7”. B side "Rawnald Gregory Erickson The Second (Strategy Remix)," with its seductive bass and mellow vibe, will be the perfect complement to “Medicine’s” unbridled energy. The single will also be available as a digital download bundle via all major digital outlets in the UK and Europe on November 23rd and will feature an exclusive new Starfucker remix of track "Biggie Smalls".

EVP changing URLs Monday, Oct. 19th!

2009-10-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

http://evpzine.blogspot.com

Remember that. It will be our new address come Monday!

We wanted to let you know--because all of you have been so loyal and kind to us--that we are in the process of changing URLs. We've grown tired of the e-mails asking where all the pro-vote for the Vice President propaganda is on the site. Okay, we really don't receive e-mails like that but every time we thinking about our hideous choice in URL titles, we cringe and wonder why we haven't changed it.

Please spread this news to any and everyone. We'll post a reminder each day and we hope we see you all when we change URLs. There are more changes (big and small) coming soon but this is the one that has been looming for awhile.

Thanks for your patience and we hope to see you, your friends, your family, and perhaps your enemies continue to support us and read us when we make the switch!

REVIEWED: Ciao My Shining Star

2009-10-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

Various Artists
Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy
(Shout Factory)

Similar Sounds: Michael Stipe, Frank Black, Elvis Perkins, Dinosaur Jr.
File Under: pop, rock, tribute, childhood nostalgia

by Lauren Takores

Can you imagine the impossible position I was in at age 11, coming of age and into the world of pop music in the mid-90s? What sheltered 11 year-old could have related to depressing grunge lyrics or appreciated the overwhelming amount of flux in music in 1995? I thought Nirvana was just really obnoxious for a long time.

But I had Mark Mulcahy--and cassettes of his bands Miracle Legion and Polaris--to convince me that I should not give up on enjoying modern music even as pop submitted to another nauseating wave of boy bands and Dave Matthews frat anthems. Mulcahy’s voice proved to be the loudest of all, giving me the sonic armor to subdue the aural onslaught to come.

Michael Stipe, who contributed “Everything’s Coming Undone” from Mulcahy’s 2005 album In Pursuit of Your Happiness, called Mulcahy “one of the great voices of our time.” Anyone who grew up watching the TV show The Adventures of Pete and Pete would agree that Mulcahy’s niche in our memory will always be as the lead singer of Polaris, one of the great voices of our collective childhood.

Mulcahy and I are both from New Haven, Connecticut. In my very first album review I wrote when I was 16, I compared Polaris to “a Hollywood star, light shining through curtains at sunset, a girl with curly hair under a beret wearing thick socks walking through fall leaves.” These images ran through my head as the music played, and I wondered if the inspiration behind any of his songs came from the streets of New Haven, something maybe we both once saw and remembered.

Now I know that Mulcahy’s main inspiration was his muse, wife Melissa. The liner notes of Ciao My Shining Star praise her support for the sometimes struggling musician of a husband and celebrate her loves and interests in life: “We started the Mezzotint record label... so I could put out music. Melissa would walk around the club selling CDs. She ran the whole thing. She made me try.” Melissa died suddenly last year, and this project is to help Mulcahy keep making music.

The merit in each of the eclectic lineup of artists covering Mulcahy’s body of work lies in both what sits well and what clashes with what’s expected from the original songs. There are plenty of mismatched songs and artists, but generally this ups the likability of the new covers, even for a stubborn fan like me.

Elvis Perkins’s cover of “She Watches Over Me” from 2007’s Love’s the Only Thing That Shuts Me Up, is more in the hungover, acoustic style of his song “The Dumps” than his studio tracks. Listening to Mulcahy’s version, this match is a natural one. However, Dinosaur Jr.’s contribution of Miracle Legion song “The Backyard” buries the optimism of the original under unenthusiastic vocals and fuzzy reverb. But what else could a signature Dinosaur Jr. song be? The National’s “Ashamed of the Story I Told” from the only Polaris album misses the overall despondency yet somehow this only serves to update the song.

Rob Sheffield was right, love really is a mix tape, and Ciao proves it.